Family
by Krylancelo
Summary: Buffy's mom gets the shock of her life when she discovers that Hank Summers is dead. He left behind two surprises for their family that are going to take some adjusting to. There is also the important matter of magic to deal with... New chapter 3 up!
1. News Crash

**_Family_ **

**Chapter 1:_ Forever Gone_**

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* * *

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The night was cold in the small town, and the man's breathing was becoming more and more harsh. It seemed as if the man's golden hazel eyes had finally lost their light after a very long, very tiring lifespan. His body was found alone in the morning.

Joyce Summers hummed to herself as she stood by the microwave. The small buzzer that went off startled her, then she frowned as she saw the machine was still cooking lunch.

A young woman of about 16 peeked inside the kitchen. Her long brown hair and light green eyes gave her a kind appearance. "Mom! Should I go get it?" Dawn Summers asked happily.

"Huh? Oh! The door!" Joyce said laughing. "No, no. Finish your homework, I'll get it." She said as she wiped her hands on a towel. The dark blonde walked over to her youngest and gave her a small hug.

"Watch the food while your at it." She said then walked over to the front oak door.

It opened with a small lurch and Joyce was startled to see a man in a suit.  
"Can I help you, sir?" She asked, clearly uncertain as to this man's presence.

The man with calm black eyes, short cut black hair, and a small red tie to complete his suit ensemble, had a sorrowful look on his face

."Yes, but.. May I come in first? You are Joyce Summers, correct?" He questioned.

He's fidgeting. Joyce thought, and I really shouldn't let a stranger in here.  
"May I know what this is about?" She asked, her dark brown eyes staring at him as if trying to see something off.  
"It concerns, this is… its about Hank Summers, your ex husband. I've come to give his final will." The man stammered, and as proof he held up a small briefcase that Joyce hadn't noticed before.

"So- so he's dead…. No.." Joyce whispered as her legs started to give way.  
The man's eyes widened when he saw her descent. "Ma'am!" He cried out, darting forward to awkwardly grab her forearm with his one hand.  
She slumped in his grasp and the man decided he really didn't ever, ever want to tell of someone's death ever again.  
"I'm sorry." He said quietly, then gently pulled her up so she would lean against the doorframe.

"Is there a place where we can both sit and discuss this, please." He murmured and Joyce faintly heard. She nodded then pulled from his grasp. Her eyes were watering up, but she closed them quickly to stop such tears. "In here, please"  
She said leading him into the living room and sitting on the beige sofa. "BUFFY!" She then cried out, and upstairs Buffy Summers stopped in her tracks.

"Mom." Buffy whispered before bolting down stairs and calling out. "Mom! Mom, what's wrong!" She met Dawn at the bottom step and nearly collided with her little sister.

"Buffy! Wha-?" The brunnette started, but Buffy just ran past to her mother's voice.

"Mom, you alright?" Buffy said and Joyce looked up at her with tears streaming down.

"He's gone.. Your father, he's gone"  
"W-what. When!" Buffy whispered.

"Two nights ago." Said a voice that made Buffy turn to face the man."Who's that?" Dawn asked after she ran in.

"Cameo Marilis. I am, was, your father's attorney. His heart failed him." Cameo said quietly.

"S-so dad's dead?" Dawn whispered. She then went over to the sofa and hugged her mom.  
The man, Cameo, nodded then sat his briefcase on the wooden coffee table.

Buffy slowly walked over to a small chair in the room and sat down heavily. "He wasn't the best dad but…" She started nervously.

"I know dear." Joyce whispered then returned Dawn's hug. She slowly pulled away and wiped her eyes of tears. Buffy was trying not to show hers, not in front of her mom and sister. All the while Dawn was looking at her mom blankly.  
Joyce forced a smile on her face for the sake of her girls then turned to regard Mr. Marilis.  
"His last will, you said?" She asked, her voice strained with grief.

He nodded then opened his briefcase and pulled out a folder.  
"I'll read it out loud. Please try not to interrupt." He cautioned.

"Interupt a dead man!" Dawn said a little hysterically then lowered her eyes. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear it.

"Ahem…_If in the event of my death I leave everything as equally as I can. For my ex-wife, Joyce Summers, I have two things to say and to ask. I loved you and I'm sorry I wasn't the best husband in life. I tried to be happy with you but you know the results of that. I leave you $14,000 to bury my corpse and the rest is for you to do as you please. I did have life insurance so that $150,000 will be distributed to you, Buffy, and to Dawn. Please take care of them, and Dawn, Buffy, I'm leaving you a nice place in LA. It's a condo that I was saving for whenever Buffy gets married. I wish you three well, but there is a favor I must ask of Joyce. I have left a large sum of money in a special bank account. I started it about 17 years ago for a special purpose. Joyce, you know I had someone who was very important to me. I had two sons with her and I know this isn't fair to you but please, I would like you to give it to them. I was a horrible person to them in life. I left when they were children and I never looked back. I owed it to you three to try and forget them but in death I believe they need to know that I wish them the best in life. There names are Edward and Alphonse Elric. I never even thought of asking their mother for anything but their safety when I left. I just want it confirmed and I want them to be alright financially.  
I ask you to do this for me and I also ask for your happiness to be great. Please, find it in your hearts to forgive me."_

Camero finished reading and the room remained dead silent. All that was heard was Joyce's harsh breathing and Buffy's hands clenching the sofa in anger.

"He just thinks he can say that without someone getting-!"

"Buffy! That's enough. Let us finish hearing out this man and then I'll decide what to do later." Joyce gritted out even though inside her skin she was boiling with a new type of anger that she though had passed years ago.  
_I never even knew he had other children._ She thought as Camero started talking once more.

Note:  
This is something I been trying for a while and finally decided to post it. It's a crossover between Buffy and FullMetal Alchemist. I think this is fun!


	2. Never Will Change

**Family**

_**Chapter 2: Nothing will change**_

Strands of blonde hair blew in the strong gust of winds that blew upon Central City. A storm was coming to greet the young man who seemed older than his 16 years. His blonde hair and golden color eyes stood out in any crowd while his short stature made him hard to find anyways. He laughed happily when his little brother came out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground.

"You were supposed to tell me when you got back!" Alphonse said in mock annoyance. He slowly got up and dusted his shirt and pants off with his hands. A happy smile graced his features when his older brother, who was a bit shorter than him, got up and gave him a hug.

"Sorry, Al. I got caught up in some stuff. We need to talk in a more private place than the train station." The blonde, Edward Elric, said quickly. Both boys fliched when the massive muscles of one Mr. Armstrong gathered the boys in one big hug that nearly crushed them.

"Such happy reunion! Edward! It's been months since we last got to see you!" The strong man exclaimed, and both Al and Ed shared a secret smile.

Edward pulled away from their host, and smiled up at the very tall man.

"So, got any food we could eat? I'm starving!" Edward said, ready to put the past behind him for the moment and look at the future.

"C'mon Al." He said, beckoning his 15 year old brother to follow the smiling Armstrong down the street.

After a fine dinner had been served and Edward had been welcomed into the Armstrong's huge home, both boys had went to Ed's room for the night. Edward sat in a wooded chair while Alphonse leaned against the bed board.

Brown hair and grey-goldish eyes looked up imploringly at his older brother.

Edward sighed as he collected his thoughts.

"What is it, brother? You've been quiet tonight, something's bothering you." Alphonse pushed, and his hands wringing his shirt bottom together showed how nervous he was.

Edward sighed again then leaned back in his chair. His face spoke volumes to Al, the news wasn't going to be good.

"I guess to make a long story short. Dad, that crappy guy who left us without a word all those years ago, just up and died. He had ANOTHER wife who is on her way here to meet with us for who knows what reason. Probably something useless." Edward gritted out, his eyes closed to keep his inner thoughts his own.

Al paled and it took his mouth a few tries to get the needed words out.

Another? No way! I thought he loved mom!"

"Yeah right, like when he loved us enough to disappear when you were barely able to walk. He was a great father." Edward retorted back sarcastically.

The room was silent for a good thirty minutes, each boy lost in their own sea of thoughts.

A slight rustle was all Alphonse heard as Edward pulled out a small letter with neat, typed writing on it. He handed it to Al who glared at it, and ripped it in two!

Edward looked on in surprise.

Al was usually the level headed one.

"I don't care about what he left! I don't want to see someone who took mom's place to him! I don't want to see-!" Al's voice cracked and a small sob was heard.

Edward quickly crossed the distance that separated him and his brother. He wrapped his good arm around Al's shoulders and let him sob quietly onto his shirt.

"Don't worry Al. Nothing's going to change. I won't let anything change." Edward promised.

It was one he would see through to the end.

* * *

Joyce Summers sat straight up in the train, reading a small novel that she had borrowed from her eldest daughter. Her eyes looked straight at it and her hands made no move to turn the pages. The open window of the train caught her hair up with the wind and she didn't seem to notice it.

Hours passed and she fidgeted yet didn't seem to really be seeing anything. He dress was black with red splotches on it, and a small purse of black completed her ensemble of mourning. The chatter and banter that was on the bus seemed to whirl by her without ever touching her. She felt nauseous and nervous, yet outwardly she seemed lost to the world. Which she was.

A soft hand on her shoulder alerted Joyce to the presence of a man in train uniform.

"Miss, this was the last train here. We've finished unloading the passengers, all except for you. Do you have a place to stay tonight?" The man asked, and Joyce blinked up at him a few times.

"Unloaded?" Recognition flitted though her face.

"Oh my! Sorry, I'll get off immediately. I was out of it, huh?" She murmured, then proceeded to leave the train.

The man sighed then hefted up her forgotten luggage.

"What a space case." He said.

* * *

Five days had passed since Edward had returned from his hometown to Central City.

The two brothers had been unusually grim for the past days and Armstrong was at a loss on how to handle them. He though well of the two boys and had sheltered them but he didn't know what was wrong.

Edward flexed his right hand and sighed as he still felt nothing. He was starting to dislike his arm very much and he sighed when Al walked into his room.

Edward plastered a tune to his lips and tried to look nonchalant. Al didn't fall for it and went over to his brother to clasp his shoulder. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Tired."

"You shouldn't exert yourself so much brother. You don't have to keep up."

"Yes I do Al. It's my responsibility to protect you. If I don't train then something might happen that I could have prevented. We can't rely on alchemy for everything." Edward said smirking, he knew his brother couldn't argue with him on this.

"Fine, fine. Pass out training then. Just don't expect me to drag you back here." Al said jokingly, and Edward returned the gesture.

"Well, thanks for the permission."

Both boys looked up, grim expressions on their faces as they heard the front door open and a annoyed Armstrong tell the woman at the door to go away.

"Funny, they've been at it for a while." Edward murmured, his eyes downcast.

"Nothing will change." Alphonse reminded him, and both sighed in relief when they heard the door close.

Until they heard a voice echo throughout the house.

"I have to talk to them." Came a woman's voice, and Al felt his stomach drop.

"Nothing will change." Ed reassured him.


	3. New Avenues

**Family**

Joyce Summers' eyes widened when she pushed pass the frustrated muscle man and saw two boys near the top of the stairs. She gulped, wondering if they really were who she was searching for. The thought made her feel uneasy and her legs felt like lead.

"So… I'm Joyce Summers. Are you Edward and Alphonse, by, um.. any chance?" She asked, feeling stupid and slow. Really, she didn't want to do this but she had said she would.

Edward pulled his little brother behind him and whispered for him to go back to his room. Alphonse looked worried, but decided to listen and go back.

Joyce sighed in relief when she saw one of the boys leave; she really couldn't deal with the both of them right now.

Edward slowly descended the steps and Armstrong hastily said he'd go make tea, or lunch, or something. Edward wasn't really listening and Joyce just nodded in a daze.

"Yeah, I'm Edward. Who're you, anyways? You've been banging on the door for hours now; I'd have though you would have given up by now."

Edward said, trailing off. Maybe she wasn't the woman from the letter but he didn't want to confront it.

"Well I came here for a reason. I'm Joyce Summers. I was the wife of Hank, or I guess, as you know him, Hoenheim Elric." Joyce said shakily. She walked over to stand before Edward and smiled down at the boy.

She was surprised at his eyes. They looked so odd, and yet reminded her of Hank's so much. She had never told her daughters that their father wore dark colored lens to hide his unnaturally golden color.

She forced a small smile to come onto her face and then she reached to grasp Edward's hands in her own.

She was a little shocked when he pulled away and gave her a cold look.

She was much more shocked when she saw the metal that gleamed coldly on his right hand. Hers flew to her mouth in shock and she stumbled back, nearly tripping on a small table in the hall.

"What? Shocked just because of this?" Edward gritted out. He had left his automail arm bare, no gloves today, since he was with people who understood his past.

He hadn't expected guest who weren't up to date.

"Your hand!" Joyce whispered, feeling sick. "T-that's not yours, is it?"

Edward narrowed his eyes and Joyce wasn't sure if she'd ever feel safe in his presence after a harsh glare like that.

"Listen Mrs. Summers. Loosing my arm isn't your business. But even more so, Al and I aren't any of your concern. We don't care what our no good dad supposedly left us. Were just fine on our own!" Edward nearly shouted, his good hand clenched.

Joyce collected her thoughts and then shook her head.

"I know you have what you need. You have just what my own children have. A mother, and that's the strongest reason for me being here! Where is your mother? A woman who was the reason for my own husband running off, divorcing me, and leaving his own daughters, without ever really getting to know them! I can't believe he would do that, I though it was a mutual thing, our marriage, but I guess it wasn't. He had to go change his name, disappear, and find, some, some woman!" Joyce angrily said.

She didn't notice the color drain from Edward's face, or she the twitch of his right eye. Armstrong, who was about to beckon them over to the lunch room for tea, had stopped short in the hall that connected the rooms.

"You have no idea how false your words are! I don't know why my parents got together and I don't know what you 'knew' about my old man, but what you just!

My mother died waiting for that piece of scum to come back to her! She loved him and cherished him, more that you probably ever could have. She gave her all just to do what she knew was right. So don't you ever blame her for something like this. Maybe it's just your fault. Or just dad's, but since both my parents are dead I really don't want to hear about our little 'families' being left just the same! All I have is Al, and all he has is me!"

"She's dead?" Joyce forced out, feeling shock and a small amount of guilt.

Edward looked to the floor, his anger dwindling a bit to reflect sadness.

"Yeah."

He then raised his head and walked over to the woman.

"There isn't anything for you to do here. Your little plan, to what? Yell at my family, just isn't going to happen. So just leave. Your not welcome near us." Edward gritted out. Joyce stepped a few steps back, her hands shaking as she gained the courage to say…

"Then my plan has changed. I'll adopt you."

_note:_ The reviews were nice, and I think I'll leave it here for this chapter. Tell me what you think. I know I made Joyce seem a little forward right now, but I wanted her to seem to have courage to get through this. Ed's just being himself.


End file.
